Five proposed Dixie Highway town centers in the works

Monday during a brainstorming session pedestrian safety was at the top of the list.

Vince Jarboe

District 12 Councilman Rick Blackwell

LOUISVILLE,
KY (WAVE) - Big changes including five new town centers filled with restaurants
and stores may be down the road for Dixie Highway.

"A
safer, more dynamic place where people can go and shop and get out of their car
and go from place to place," Vince Jarboe, the President of the Southwest
Dream Team said.

Monday during a brainstorming session pedestrian safety was at the top of the list
for the centers which may extend up to one mile long.

Developers pointed to recent accidents as the cause for concern. One of them
happened last April after a man died while trying to walk across Dixie's six
lanes. The accidents are so prevalent, they've now caught the attention of
the Federal Highway Administration.

The session also included ideas for what kinds of shopping centers could go
where.

The
plans are in the beginning stage. Plans for the first town center, which would
be from Lower Hunter's Trace to Greenwood Road, still need to be finalized
before going for a vote from the Metro Council.

While
that could take months changes are already happening in the area. The old Dixie
Dozen movie theater in Dixie Manor will become a new Hobby Lobby. The state has
already promised $12 million for improvement like sidewalks and grass along the
highway.

District
12 Councilman Rick Blackwell said now is the chance for anyone with ideas to
speak up.

"We kind of already have it in place, kind of what people are looking for,
and it then allows the developers to build what people want," Blackwell
said.